Archive for the 'Baseball America' Category

80

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

Yesterday, we passed along the annual Baseball America top 100 prospects rankings, a list which contained three former and one future BlueClaw. The future BlueClaw on that list is Roman Quinn, a shortstop who will likely be Lakewood’s Opening Day (April 4th is 43 days away!) SS and lead-off hitter.

In the scouting reports that accompanied the BA rankings, they pass along player ratings along the 20-80 scouting scale, with 80 being the best.

We noted in our write-up of Quinn that he was given a speed rating of 80, which made us curious as to the numbers of 80s handed out. Here are the players on the list who received a rating of 80 in one category.

  • RHP Gerrit Cole, #7 overall, Pirates – 80 fastball
  • 3B Miguel Sano, #8 overall, Twins – 80 power
  • CF Byron Buxton, #10 overall, Twins – 80 speed
  • OF/SS Billy Hamilton, #20 overall, Reds – 80 speed
  • RHP Bruce Rondon, #95 overall, Tigers – 80 fastball
  • SS Roman Quinn, #100 overall, Phillies – 80 speed

That’s the list. Six players. Cole was the #1 overall pick in 2011 by the Pirates. Sano is a top Twins prospect who signed for over $3 million out of the Dominican Republic. Buxton was the #2 overall pick in the 2012 draft. Hamilton stole 155 bases in 2012 between Hi-A and AA. Finally, Rondon is expected to contend for the closer’s role this year with the Tigers.

BlueClaws Connections in Baseball America Top 100

Tuesday, February 19th, 2013

Baseball America today released their annual Top 100 Prospects list and there are several connections to the BlueClaw. Year listed is their year with the BlueClaws.

23. Travis d’Arnaud, C, 2009 – Now with the Mets, they expect d’Arnaud to make his big league debut at some point in 2013. Could he be the 50th player to go From The Shore to the Show? He’s on the list of possibles, certainly. BA gives him a 60 bat tool and a 60 power tool on the 20-80 scouting scale. He hit .333 with 16 HRs in 67 games with AAA Las Vegas before an injury. He was traded to the Mets as part of a package for RA Dickey in the winter.

27. Jonathan Singleton, 1B, 2010 – The Astros 1B prospect, who was acquired in 2011 as part of the deal that sent Hunter Pence to the Phillies, hit .284 with 21 home runs with AA Corpus Christi last year. BA gives him a 65 bat with 60 power and an ETA of 2014.

89. Jesse Biddle, LHP, 2011 – Biddle has put together back-to-back dynamite campaigns in his first two full seasons, including 10-6, 3.22 year in 2012 with Clearwater in which he struck out 151 hitters in 142.2 innings. He’s just 21, and BA gives him steady ratings across the board, ranging from 50-60 in fastball, curveball, command, change-up, and control. He’ll get tested this year moving to AA Reading and a hitter-friendly FirstEnergy Stadium.

100. Roman Quinn, SS, 2013 – Quinn is one of just a few players on this list who have not yet played in a full-season league. BA gives him an 80 speed (best possible), and he is one of just a few players to receive an 80 in any category (more on this later). Last year was his first as a switch-hitter and a shortstop, and Quinn hit .281 and led the NYPL with 30 stolen bases. He’ll likely be Lakewood’s shortstop and leadoff hitter in 2013.

Links: Full List, Scouting Reports, Helpful Tidbits.

The Handbook

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

Every year, Baseball America puts out what is likely the most comprehensive look at prospects every year, through their Baseball America Prospect Handbook, which arrived in the mail late last week.

Baseball America has previously released their Top Ten prospects in each organization (Phillies here) and we did a Q&A with their Phillies writer, Matt Forman (here).

Below the fold, however, you can see 11-30. We’ve put their 2012 finishing level in parentheses. Many of those on this list could be BlueClaws in 2013.

Enjoy.

(more…)

BA Phillies Top Ten Q&A

Monday, December 31st, 2012

A couple of weeks ago, Baseball America released their annual Phillies Top Ten prospect rankings. As we’ve done in years past, we went deeper into those rankings by talking to Matt Forman, the Baseball America writer who compiled them.

As a refresher, 2011 BlueClaws LHP Jesse Biddle topped the list, and likely 2013 BlueClaws SS Roman Quinn was second on the list.

You can follow Matt on Twitter here. Onto the Q&A:

Q: What were the biggest strides Jesse Biddle made over the past season?

Jesse Biddle, the Phillies’ No. 1 prospect entering 2013, has had an incremental climb throughout his young professional career. Really, and the Phillies’ brass has said this multiple times, he has done everything — and more — that’s been asked of him since his signed as their first-round pick in 2010. Last year, Biddle took significant strides in a number of areas. In terms of stuff, Biddle better pitched to both sides of the plate with his fastball. His changeup developed into a swing-and-miss offering. He gained consistency with his curveball, especially in controlling its knee-buckling depth. He also added a slider and a two-seam fastball to his arsenal. All the while, in terms of statistics, Biddle cut his walk rate, improved his whiff rate and bettered his groundball-to-flyball ratio — all positive indicators. When the stats and stuff align, that’s a good sign for any pitching prospect. If Biddle continues progressing the way he has, he could out-perform his projected mid-rotation starter upside.

Q: Roman Quinn ranked #2 on the list and in the write-up you said he was a legit 80-speed on the 20-80 scouting scale. In general, how rare is that 80 designation?

Extremely rare — 80-grade tools are not offered liberally. The 20-80 scouting scale is based on the mathematical normal distribution curve, where 50 is Major League average and every 10-point differential falls one standard deviation from the mean. By literal definition, then, Roman Quinn’s speed should roughly rate among the top 0.1 percent of players — but the system isn’t quite that scientific. That is, probably between 15 and 20 percent of big leaguers have “average” or 50-grade speed, because players slow down (age, size) and speed isn’t as big a part of the game as it once was, though that’s changing. Regardless, Quinn is on the short list of the fastest players in the minor leagues — arguably the fastest player not named Billy Hamilton, of Cincinnati’s system. Quinn’s speed is game-changing, impacting play in the field, at the plate and on the bases.

Q: Quinn was listed in the middle of the pack in the 2012 ratings. What stood out about his 2012 performance and were you surprised about his jump?

I’d say I was somewhat surprised by Quinn’s jump, but not totally shocked. Quinn barely missed the Top 10 last year, coming in at No. 11 on the pre-2012 list after being selected in the second round of the draft, and that ranking was at least partially influenced by the fact that he signed late and made his professional debut in instructional league, so we were largely relying on his amateur reports. In instructs, he impressed observers with his first-step quickness, but he had just committed to switch-hitting and playing shortstop full-time. Really, that’s what stood out about his 2012 performance — his development on the infield dirt, where scouts seem encouraged he’ll be able to stay, and his improvement hitting left-handed. He’s got a plus arm and good actions at short, and he could be a solid-average hitter from both sides.

To your original question: Quinn was the New York-Penn League’s No. 3 prospect, and when I started the reporting/researching process for this list, I expected him to fall somewhere in the middle of Top 10. But quickly, Quinn received consideration for the list’s No. 1 spot, and it wasn’t necessarily an easy decision to go with Biddle over Quinn. Ultimately, Quinn has a higher ceiling, but Biddle is the safer bet to reach his ceiling after spending his age-20 season pitching for high Class A Clearwater.

Q: Jonathan Pettibone was here in Lakewood in 2010 on a staff that had Brody Colvin, Jarred Cosart, Trevor May, and Julio Rodriguez and he always seemed to get lost in the shuffle. Obviously he had a tremendous season and beat all of those guys to Triple-A (save Cosart who was an injury fill-in there with Houston). Did his move and year surprise people and what’s his projection going forward?

You’re right about Jonathan Pettibone being overlooked among the “Baby Aces” rotation that pitched in Lakewood in 2010 and Clearwater for half of 2011. That’s likely because Pettibone doesn’t have (and didn’t have) the pure stuff of Colvin, Cosart and May, and he hasn’t posted (and didn’t post) the outrageous strikeout totals of Rodriguez. But Pettibone has the best pitchability among that group, and that’s why he has progressed more quickly through the minor leagues.

I’d say Pettibone’s 2012 was marginally unexpected, at least in the sense that I didn’t anticipate he’d make seven starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year, and I don’t think many others would’ve made that prediction. But Pettibone entered the year as the system’s No. 4 prospect, and he’ll enter next year occupying the same spot. So the more surprising jump happened two seasons ago, but it was encouraging to see him have another strong season.

Pettibone’s projection: a mid-rotation, innings-eater, probably as a No. 3 or No. 4 starter. Some scouts still worry about his lack of a swing-and-miss pitch. For his solid stuff and advanced command/control, Pettibone has never missed many bats, though his strikeout rate bumped up at Lehigh Valley. That said, Pettibone likely will be given a chance to compete for the Phillies’ fifth starter spot in spring training, and either way he could see time in Philadelphia at some point in 2013.

There’s a lot more below the fold…

(more…)

Baseball America Phillies Top Ten

Wednesday, December 19th, 2012

/* < ![CDATA[ */
var quicktagsL10n = {
quickLinks: "(Quick Links)",
wordLookup: "Enter a word to look up:",
dictionaryLookup: "Dictionary lookup",
lookup: "lookup",
closeAllOpenTags: "Close all open tags",
closeTags: "close

generic cialis no prescription tags”,
enterURL: “Enter the URL”,
enterImageURL: “Enter the URL of the image”,
enterImageDescription: “Enter a description of the image”
};
try{convertEntities(quicktagsL10n);}catch(e){};
/* ]]> */

edToolbar()

We posted this on BlueClaws.com but not here – the annual Baseball America Phillies Top Ten Prospect Rankings, which is always a fun day because we get to talk some baseball here in the middle of the off-season.

Here are their rankings, which are led by 2011 BlueClaw LHP Jesse Biddle and (likely) 2013 BlueClaw SS Roman Quinn. Among former BlueClaws, by the way, Jonathan Pettibone (2010 RHP) is 4, Maikel Franco (2012 3B) is 8 and Darin Ruf (2010 1B) is 9.

Their top ten from last year looked like this. Trevor May (#1) was traded. Sebastian Valle (#3) fell out of the top ten (they don’t release more than 10 outside of their actual handbook where they go 1-30, but I’d guess Valle is in the 11-13 range), Phillippe Aumont (#5) fell out of the top ten (see Valle), as did Jiwan James (#9) and Brody Colvin (#8). Freddy Galvis (#6), and Justin De Fratus (#7) no longer qualify.

The Phillies top prospects per this list over the last several seasons (year is season entering) were Carlos Carrasco (2007-2008), Domonic Brown (2009-2011), Trevor May (2012), and now Biddle.

Below the fold, we have write-ups on all of the players and we will again try to get in touch with Matt Forman of Baseball America, who made the list, for his comments, as we’ve done in years past.

(more…)

Former BlueClaws Recognized By Baseball America

Thursday, November 29th, 2012

Several former BlueClaws that are currently in other organizatio

ns were recognized by Baseball America in their annual “Top 10 Prospects” lists (link here) for various organizations.

Blue Jays
#1. Travis d’Arnaud (2009) – d’Arnaud helped the BlueClaws win their second South Atlantic League title (in 2009), and was traded to the Blue Jays after the season as part of the deal that brought Roy Halladay to the Phillies. d’Arnaud finished his third season with the Blue Jays and playing in AAA Las Vegas, he hit .333 with 16 HRs and 52 RBIs before an unfortunate knee injury (torn PCL) in late June ended his season. He’ll be healthy for spring training and will almost certainly make his big league debut at some point in 2013. GM Alex Anthopoulos said the following:

“We just want to see him get back, hopefully have a good spring training, go down to the minor leagues, get his swing back and we’ll worry about him hopefully when he’s having a great year down there and he can make our decision hard.”

The other former BlueClaw with Toronto, d’Arnaud’s 2009 teammate Anthony Gose, is obviously no longer considered a prospect after playing 56 games with the Blue Jays this year.

Astros
#2 Jonathan Singleton (2010) – Singleton joined the BlueClaws from extended spring training in May of 2010 and hit 14 home runs and drove in 77 runs in helping the BlueClaws win their second straight title. He was traded to the Astros in July of 2011 as part of the deal that brought Hunter Pence to Philadelphia. This past year, he hit .284 with 21 home runs and 79 RBIs with Double-A Corpus Christi. He had a great Arizona Fall League as well and will likely start 2013 in Triple-A and make his big league debut at some point later in the season.

Note that the only player ranked ahead of Singleton on the Astros list was SS Carlos Correa, who was the #1 overall pick in the 2012 draft. BA did note they consider Singleton the best first base prospect in the minors. The other noteworthy thing for Singleton is that with the Astros moving to the American League, there are potential at bats as a DH for him (or someone else) that weren’t there last year.

#7 Jarred Cosart (2010) – Cosart made 14 starts, going 7-3, 2.79, with the BlueClaws in 2010. He was then traded to the Astrros, with Singleton, in 2011 as part of the Hunter Pence trade. Last year, Cosart, a native of League City, Texas (just 25 miles from Minute Maid Park), pitched for both AA Corpus Christi (5-5, 3.52) and AAA Oklahoma City (1-2, 2.60). He’ll open 2013 in the starting rotation at Oklahoma City and is another that could debut in the big leagues this year.

BA notes that while he is a starter for now, some think he will end up a closer at some point in the future.

Misc Notes…All three of these players were ranked in the Baseball America Top 50 (overall) entering the 2012 season (click here)…d’Arnaud and Singleton were both top 25 in BA’s mid-season list this year (here)…We were a little surprised that fellow 2010 BlueClaw Jonathan Villar didn’t make the Astros top ten. Villar hit .261 in Double-A this year adding 39 stolen bases and just turned 21. I’m sure he’s in the top 15, but those aren’t revealed until the Prospect Handbook comes out in late January.

If you’re wondering, the Phillies list is slated to be revealed on Monday, December 17th.

Biddle, Morgan In BA’s FSL Top 20

Monday, October 8th, 2012

Two Phillies, including 2011 BlueClaws LHP Jesse Biddle, made Baseball America’s Florida State League Top 20 prospects lis

ting.

Biddle, the Phillies first round pick in 2010, ranked 10th while LHP Adam Morgan, the Phillies 3rd round pick in 2011 (University of Alabama), ranked 12th.

Biddle went 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA for Clearwater this year, striking out 151 hitters in 143 innings of work.

“His command of his fastball got better,” said Chris Truby, who managed Biddle in both Lakewood and Clearwater the last two years. “And I thought his breaking ball became more consistent. He’s now throwing it for strikes. It’s not just a swing-and-miss pitch, he buries it.”

He ranked 3rd in the league in ERA and after a slowish start (10 ER in his first 11.1 innings), he pitched to a sparkling 2.74 ERA in his final 23 starts, allowing three ER or less in 20 of those 23 games. He saved perhaps his two best games for the end of the year – throwing seven no-hit innings with two walks and 12 Ks on August 17th and following that up with seven more scoreless innings on two hits with 9 Ks on August 23rd.

Morgan pitched 2011 with Williamsport and skipped Lakewood, pitching to a 3.29 ERA in 20 games with Clearwater (133 Ks/28 BBs in 119 innings). He made his final six starts of the year with Reading, going 4-1, 3.53.

While 2011 BlueClaw Austin Wright, who was drafted that year in the 8th round from Ole Miss, didn’t make the list, I’m sure he was pretty close, after going 11-5, 3.47 with Clearwater this year. He fanned 133 in 147 innings.

Format

Two Phillies, including 2011 BlueClaws LHP Jesse Biddle, made Baseball America’s Florida State League Top 20 prospects listing.
Biddle, the Phillies first round pick in 2010, ranked 10th while LHP Adam Morgan, the Phillies 3rd round pick in 2011 (University of Alabama), ranked 12th.
Biddle went 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA for Clearwater this year, striking out 151 hitters in 143 innings of work.
“His command of his fastball got better,” said Chris Truby, who managed Biddle in both Lakewood and Clearwater the last two years. “And I thought his breaking ball became more consistent. He’s now throwing it for strikes. It’s not just a swing-and-miss pitch, he buries it.”
He ranked 3rd in the league in ERA and after a slowish start (10 ER in his first 11.1 innings), he pitched to a sparkling 2.74 ERA in his final 23 starts, allowing three ER or less in 20 of those 23 games. He saved perhaps his two best games for the end of the year – throwing seven no-hit innings with two walks and 12 Ks on August 17th and following that up with seven more scoreless innings on two hits with 9 Ks on August 23rd.
Morgan pitched 2011 with Williamsport and skipped Lakewood, pitching to a 3.29 ERA in 20 games with Clearwater (133 Ks/28 BBs in 119 innings). He made his final six starts of the year with Reading, going 4-1, 3.53.
While 2011 BlueClaw Austin Wright, who was drafted that year in the 8th round from Ole Miss, didn’t make the list, I’m sure he was pretty close, after going 11-5, 3.47 with Clearwater this year. He fanned 133 in 147 innings.
Path:

Franco Ranks 16th Among SAL Prospects

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

Yesterday, we shared Baseball America’s NY-Penn League rankings, with possible

2013 BlueClaws shortstop Roman Quinn ranking 3rd in that league. Today, they released their South Atlantic League rankings, and BlueClaws third baseman Maikel Franco ranked 16th.

Franco, who played much of the year at 19 years of age (he turned 20 on August 26th), hit .280 with 14 HRs and 84 RBIs, but it was a tale of two halves for Franco. Before the All-Star break, he hit just .207-6-27 (OPS of .607) and in the second half, he hit .346-8-57 (OPS of .925).

His 2nd half ranked 4th in the league in average, 1st in RBIs, and 5th in OPS.

Mickey Morandini on Franco’s improved 2nd half: “Shorter to the ball. Starting to use all fields a bit more. He realizes he doesn’t have to swing for a home run every time and he’s done a great job laying off the curveball in the dirt to put himself in more hitters counts.”

In the scouting report section (subscriber-only), Augusta manager Lipso Nava said that Franco’s game reminded him of Adrian Beltre’s.

It’s worth noting as well that Franco was ranked as the 2nd best 3rd base prospect, though they were all bunched up (Greenville’s Garin Cechhini was 15th on this list while Hagerstown’s Matt Skole, who won the league MVP, was 19th).

The BlueClaws had two on this list last year – Jesse Biddle (6) and Domingo Santana (18), who was traded to Houston in August of 2011.

Quinn Ranks Third Among NYPL Prospects

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

(Williamsport Crosscutters)

Missed this yesterday, but Williamsport shortstop

Roman Quinn, who could well be with the BlueClaws in 2013, ranked 3rd among prospects in the New York-Penn League in the annual Baseball America league rankings.

Quinn was a Phillies 2nd round pick in 2010 from Port St Joe, Florida who committed to Florida State before signing. He was drafted as an outfielder and a right-handed batter, but with the Phillies, he’s not only learned how to play shortstop, but also to switch hit.

He hit .281 this year in 267 at bats with a league-leading 11 triples (two more than his nine doubles) and he stole 30 bases, which also led the league, while being caught just six times.

Quinn ended up tied for 16th in the minors in triples this year (including full-season players), and all but two players of the 15 with 12 or more triples did so in fewer at bats. 67 players in the minors this year had at least nine triples (again, includes all leagues, both full and short season) and only Quinn and Gioskar Amaya, a Cubs prospect, had more triples than doubles of that group.

“The kid never hit lefthanded and is facing college pitchers in our league, and it is pretty special what he is doing this year,” said Williamsport first-year manager Andy Tracy (Philadelphia Inquirer, August 13th). “He is a game-changer, and when he gets on base we are a different club.”

He’s odds-on to lead the BlueClaws in stolen bases this year, and might be a guy that can push 50+ stolen bases. Anthony Gose holds the team record of 76 and nobody else has ever gotten to 60 (Chris Roberson is second with 59). We’re looking forward to seeing him as a BlueClaws this year.

Baseball America GCL Top 20

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012

Baseball America released their Gulf Coast League Top 20 prospects list yesterday, a list that included one Phillies p

layer, and potential future BlueClaw – OF Carlos Tocci, who ranked 6th.

Tocci was 16 for most of the summer and didn’t turn 17 until August 23rd, but more than held his own, hitting .278 in 97 at bats and added nine stolen bases in 38 games.

Most likely, we would think he goes to Williamsport in 2013 and then would be with the BlueClaws as an 18-year old in 2014, but remember – Domingo Santana opened the 2010 season with Lakewood as a 17-year old in 2010, so you never know (that said, the BlueClaws 2013 outfield could be crowded entering the year, as it’s been the last couple of seasons). Either way, Tocci’s future is bright and we’ll see him in Lakewood at some point in the next few years.

Update: For comparison’s sake, the players ranked ahead of Tocci -

  • 1. Twins OF Byron Buxton – 2nd overall pick, 2012
  • 2. Astros SS Carlos Correa – 1st overall pick, 2012
  • 3. Blue Jays OF DJ Davis – 17th overall pick, 2012
  • 4. Astros OF Rio Ruiz – 4th round pick, 2012
  • 5. Pirates C Wyatt Mathieson – 2nd round pick, 2012

 

The Handbook Has Arrived

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

handbookblogThis is always one of the books I am most eager-to-open each year – the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, which you can order online through Baseball America. They release their top ten prospects each year and in the fall we did a Q&A with Matt Forman, who handed the Phillies list. Today, however, we go from 1-10, all the way up to 30.

11-20: 11 – Roman Quinn, SS (2nd round pick in 2011); 12 – Lisalberto Bonilla, RHP (2011 BlueClaw); 13 – Carlos Tocci, OF (16 year old signed with Phillies on August 23rd, his birthday); 14 – Cesar Hernandez, 2B (Played last year with Clearwater after skipping Lakewood); 15 – Aaron Altherr, OF (split last year between Lakewood and Williamsport and could be back with the BlueClaws); 16 – Ervis Manzanillo, LHP (2011 BlueClaw); 17 – Julio Rodriguez, RHP (2010 BlueClaw heads to Reading this year); 18 – Kyrell Hudson (3rd round pick in 2009 could open with Lakewood this year); 19 – Harold Garcia, 2B (2009 BlueClaw missed most of last year with torn ACL but could open this year with Lehigh Valley); 20 – Larry Greene, OF (Phillies supplemental first-round pick in 2011).

21-30: 21 – Perci Garner, RHP (2nd round pick in 2010 likely joins Lakewood this year); 22 – Austin Hyatt, RHP (2009 BlueClaw heads to Lehigh Valley this year); 23 – Mitchell Walding, SS (Phillies 5th round pick in 2011); 24 – Leandro Castro, OF (2009-10 BlueClaw); 25 – Joe Savery, LHP (made Phillies debut in September, never played here); 26 – Austin Wright, LHP (2011 8th round pick went 1-2, 2.67 in seven BlueClaws starts); 27 – Zach Collier, OF (played here in 2009 and 11); 28 – JC Ramirez, RHP (acquired in Cliff Lee trade from Seattle); 29 – Adam Morgan, LHP (3rd round pick in 2011 from Alabama went 3-3, 2.01 with Williamsport); 30 – Michael Schwimer, RHP (made Phillies debut in September).

(Yes, my desk is a little messy. Yes, that’s my Atlantic-10 Tournament pamphlet – Go Fordham! Yes, that’s my Big Brown bobblehead doll).

1-2 in 3 Organizations

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

oneinthreefullFormer BlueClaws are ranked 1-2 in three different organizations among the recent Baseball America prospect lists released over the last few weeks.

We talked about the Phillies top ten prospects list awhile back with former BlueClaws in the one-through-four slots (Trevor May, Jesse Biddle, Sebastian Valle, and Jonathan Pettibone). May and Pettibone were in the BlueClaws 2010 championship rotation with Valle their catcher. Biddle, of course, was here this year. You can read more about those guys at the link.

The other two organizations where the BlueClaws go 1-2 are recent Phillies trading partners Houston and Toronto.

Houston (click here)
1. 1B Jonathan Singleton: Sent to Houston in the Hunter Pence trade in July, Singleton hit .290-14-77 with the BlueClaws in 2010, including a mammoth home run in his first at bat with the team, May 13th in Greenville. After the trade, Singleton was sent to Hi-A Lancaster (he was with Clearwater) and hit .333 with 4 HRs in 129 at bats. Baseball America says he is the best first base prospect in the minors.

2. RHP Jarred Cosart: Also in the Hunter Pence trade in July, Cosart went 7-3, 3.79 with Lakewood in 2010, pitching in the first half before an injury cost him the second half of the season. Cosart, unlike Singleton, was bumped straight up to Double-A Corpus Christi after the trade. He went 1-2, 4.79 in seven starts (though he did allow one earned run or less in five of those seven starts) and will likely go back there to open the 2012 campaign.

Toronto (click here)
1. C Travis d’Arnaud: He was traded to the Jays in the Roy Halladay in December of 2009. This year, he anchored the championship Eastern League Jays affiliate in New Hampshire, hitting .311-21-78 and was the league MVP. He hit 13 home runs and drove in 71 runs with the championship BlueClaws in 2009 under Dusty Wathan. d’Arnaud, who saw his brother Chase make his big league debut this year with Pittsburgh, is expected to go to Triple-A Las Vegas and could make his big league debut later in the season.

2. CF Anthony Gose: Gose has led his league in steals each of the last three years (including a franchise record 76 with the BlueClaws in 2009). This year, he was d’Arnaud’s teammate on the championship New Hampshire club. Gose stole 70 bases this year and hit 16 home runs, after hitting nine in his first three pro seasons. He’ll join d’Arnaud in Las Vegas this summer. He was actually sent to Houston in the Roy Oswalt deal in 2010 but was immediately flipped to Toronto for Brett Wallace. Toronto reportedly wanted him in the Halladay deal but the Phillies held onto him.

And that’s how you 1-2 in 3 organizations.

A few former BlueClaws (OF Michael Taylor and IF Adrian Cardenas) could appear on the Athletics top-ten list, which will be released on January 25th, though that list will not include the prospects the A’s have received this offseason in trading away Gio Gonzalez (Nationals), Andrew Bailey (Red Sox) and Trevor Cahill (Diamondbacks).

The Houston BlueClaws

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

lakewoodastrosMaybe you’ll be getting an Astros hat in a few years. Four of the Astros top six prospects per Baseball America are former BlueClaws, which makes sense as the teams have made big deadline deals in each of the past two seasons.

Here is the full story from Baseball America.

1. Jonathan Singleton (2010): Singleton joined the BlueClaws and promptly homered in his first at bat (which is the May 13th nugget on your BlueClaws calendar), and would go on to hit 14 last year as Lakewood won the SAL title. This year, he hit a combined 13 HRs as a 19 year-old between Clearwater and Lancaster (where he also hit .333 after the July 29th trade). BA says he is the best 1B prospect in the minors and could be a .300-30 HR guy in the big leagues.

2. Jarred Cosart (2010): Cosart’s 2010 with the BlueClaws was interrupted due to a late-June injury but not before he went 7-3 and fanned 77 in 71 innings. This year, he went 9-8, 3.92 with Clearwater and got to play in the Futures Game that he missed the year before due to the injury. After the trade, he went straight to Double-A with Houston at 21 and went 1-2, 4.71. He and Singleton will probably be reunited there this year.

4. Jonathan Villar (2010): Villar hit .272 with 38 steals with Lakewood last year before being traded in the Roy Oswalt trade (on Goonies Night). This year, he hit .238 split between Lcancaster and AA Corpus Christi. BA calls him the second toolsiest shortstop in the minors.

6. Domingo Santana (2010-11): Santana played half of last year with Lakewood and then was here this year through August 16th, when he was named as the player-to-be-named later in the Pence trade. With Lakewood, he hit seven HRs in 350 ABs and hit .269 this year. After the deal he went to Lexington where in 68 at bats, he hit 5 HRs and .382! Lancaster, their Hi-A spot, is considered the best hitters park in the minors.

Josh Zeid, with Lakewood in 2010 and also in the Pence trade this summer, wasn’t listed here but is likely in the 11-20 spot. The Prospect Handbook, which comes out in January, goes 30 deep per team.

Our pal Eric Jarinko, the media guru for Greenville, Tweeted a link to this article last night about the limits on draft spending in the new CBA and how it could impact teams trying to sign players “over slot” late in the draft. This article focused on Greenville OF Brandon Jacobs, who had a scholarship to play football at Auburn, but his case isn’t unique. Domonic Brown had a scholarship to play football at Miami before signing with the Phillies in 2006.

From the article (Providence Journal):

According to the collective bargaining agreement unveiled at a joint press conference in New York on Tuesday, teams will be penalized severely if the aggregate money they pay draft picks — their “signing bonus pool” — exceeds their assigned value.

A team that exceeds the pool by up to 5 percent will be taxed 75 percent of the overage. A team that exceeds the pool by 5-10 percent will be taxed 75 percent of the overage and lose a first-round pick. A team that exceeds the pool by 10-15 percent will be taxed 100 percent of the overage and lose a first- and second-round pick. A team that exceeds the pool by 15 percent or more will be taxed 100 percent of the overage and lose first-round picks in back-to-back drafts.

The new agreement will not, in any way, limit the amount of money teams can pay individual players. But every dollar spent on a tough-to-sign player will take away from the dollars available to sign other tough-to-sign players, effectively limiting the amount of talent each team can draft.

It will be worth following during the next draft and sign cycle – from June through mid-August.

We’ll have an interview with new BC manager Mickey Morandini later today.

Baseball America Q&A

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Last week, Baseball America released their annual Top Ten Prospects list for the Phillies organization, and we sat down for a Q&A with the man who made the list, BA’s Matt Forman.

A quick plug… If you’re interested in the minor leagues, prospects and this kind of analysis, I encourage you (if you don’t already) to subscribe to Baseball America and buy the Prospect Handbook, which is released in January and has scouting reports on 900 (930 if you buy directly from BA) of the game’s future stars. You can reach Matt on Twitter @matt_forman for follow-up questions or comments.

1) First, what goes into making a list like this?
The process isn’t too dissimilar from what you would guess it entails: lots of phone conversations with executives inside the organization and several outside the organization as well. One factor that might get overlooked is that Baseball America has a fairly significant history with each of the players that gets ranked, whether they were highlighted in pre-draft coverage, the international scene or individual minor-league Top 20 lists. Those scouting reports and insights are shared among BA’s staff and form the foundation of reporting from which to start. Additionally, I consult my notes from games I’ve attended in person — I watched more than week’s worth of drills/games on the back fields during Spring Training, then saw a handful of games in Clearwater and Lakewood this year. Generally, I try to list 40-50 players for consideration, putting all of their background information and yearly statistics into a spreadsheet. Then the phone calls happen, leading to a thorough back-and-forth with BA editors John Manuel and Jim Callis about ranking the Top 30, which ultimately reflects weighing a player’s potential against the chance that they reach that potential.

2) What strides did Trevor May make from last year to this year?
Good question. If you had to boil May’s progress down to one word, it would be consistency. He did a better job repeating his delivery, which led to a more consistent arm slot and in turn led to quality strikes and improved secondary stuff — that’s ultimately reflected in the staggering numbers he posted for Clearwater in 2011. He has gained greater body control as he has grown into his 6-foot-5 frame. After struggling in the first half of 2010 in the Florida State League, May has rebounded incredibly well, and his success has boosted his confidence level. Aside from consistency and confidence, May added a two-seam fastball to his arsenal and the Phillies introduced a slider in the second half of the season, though he hasn’t used it much in game action. He also started relying more heavily on his changeup. For all those reasons, May was the Phillies’ clear-cut No. 1 prospect, and he profiles as durable, innings-eating No. 2 starter.

3) Did Biddle’s season elevate his projections going forward for scouts?
It would be difficult to answer “No,” just because Biddle has lived up to and exceeded all expectations thus far. What more could you ask of a local, 2010 first-round pick? He signed quickly, impressed during instructional league last year and more than held his own as one of the youngest pitchers in the South Atlantic in 2011 while shouldering a professional workload for the first time. In terms of his overall future potential or projection, scouts likely wouldn’t alter Biddle’s ceiling; that is, he still projects to be a solid No. 3 starter, though his risk level has been reduced and there’s less of a chance that he would ultimately end up in the bullpen. Biddle rarely used his changeup in high school, and that’s been a major point of emphasis in his development: to add a quality third pitch to go along with his fastball-curveball combination. More than anything, scouts inside and outside the organization rave about Biddle’s competitiveness and aptitude.

4) What player was the biggest mover in 2011?
I’ll give you two names: Maikel Franco and Ervis Manzanillo, both of whom Lakewood fans likely got to see this year, though Manzanillo admittedly more. Both were unranked in last year’s top 30 and made their way into the top 15 this year. Franco spent most of the year at Williamsport, save for a short late-season promotion to the Sally where he struggled before returning to the New York-Penn League. Of the position players in the Phillies’ system before the 2011 draft, Franco has arguably the highest ceiling. His only knock is his running speed, which is well-below average, but he’s got the rest of the package — a plus arm and good range at third, plus raw power and a solid approach at the plate for an 18-year-old, though he gets a little pull happy and aggressive at times. Simply put, Franco has impact potential. Manzanillo, on the other hand, is an interesting story because he didn’t start playing baseball until he was 16 in his native Venezuela. And if you were simply grading Manzanillo’s raw stuff, it would compare favorably with Biddle’s, for example. He’s got a live, loose arm, and for someone with his build he has shown good durability. He runs his fastball up to the mid-90s from the left side, which alone gets scouts excited. He needs to work on commanding the fastball and developing the secondary stuff, but that’s not unreasonable given his age and experience in the game. I’ll name two others for honorable mention biggest mover, if only because they were once written off as prospects but re-established themselves this year: former first-round pick Joe Savery, who went from the organization’s hitter of the month in May to its pitcher of the month in August, and former supplemental first-rounder Zach Collier, who spent the year at Lakewood.

5) I know Valle has been pretty young at each level as he’s moved up. How does he project going forward?
Generally speaking, the Phillies like to take it slow with catchers, mostly because they have so much on their plate — no pun intended. On a more serious note, managing a pitching staff, calling pitches, working with umpires and everything else that comes with wearing the tools of ignorance takes some seasoning. Assuming he doesn’t have any setbacks, Valle should spend 2012 with Double-A Reading and 2013 with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, putting him in position for a late-season 2013 call-up at 23 years old. Just about every time someone within the organization talks about Valle, they say how much he’s grown since that time last year. He’s continued improving defensively, and he grades out as a solid-average or better major-league catcher. His power numbers dropped off slightly last year, no thanks to the tough hitting environment in Clearwater, but he has above-average raw power and great bat speed. The biggest question is about his approach — he’s ultra-aggressive and strikes out quite a bit, and he would benefit from tuning everything down a notch. But without question, Valle looks like the catcher of the future and the heir apparent to Carlos Ruiz, who will be 35 come 2014.

6) What kind of role can these power relievers – Aumont, De Fratus, etc have with the Phillies?
Interesting question, because developing homegrown relievers and turning over the bullpen to younger, cost-controlled options should help the Phillies keep their payroll under control. You saw the job Antonio Bastardo and Mike Stutes did last year, and both figure to factor prominently into the future plans. Assuming Ryan Madson resigns (as I’m writing this, there are conflicting reports about Madson agreeing in principle to a four-year deal), he’ll be the team’s closer for the foreseeable future. De Fratus, Michael Schwimer and Joe Savery all contributed at the end of 2011 and could be joined soon by Aumont. Aumont has the best stuff (plus-plus fastball with incredible movement and plus-plus curveball) and highest upside (closer potential) among those relievers, and it would seem he could spend time setting up for and learning from Madson before stepping into his role. De Fratus profiles as a 70-innings-per-year seventh inning reliever for now and could become a set-up guy with time. He didn’t have quite the same precision with his usually pinpoint control last year, which he’ll need to be effective, but his slider continued to improve. As mentioned, Savery has an incredible background and has been on a long journey to the big leagues. His velocity returned almost inexplicably this year back to the 92-94 range he showed as an amateur, and his low-80s curveball has two-plane break. He’s more than just a lefty specialist. Schwimer is a nice middle relief prospect and did a better job of pitching to his velocity last year. Beyond that group, you should keep an eye on former BlueClaw Jacob Diekman, who’s a personal favorite. With a little work on his command, Diekman could carve out a nice career as a lefty specialist, though he’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this year if he’s not protected on the 40-man roster. I also wouldn’t discount B.J. Rosenberg, who has battled some injuries but is still thought of highly by the organization.

7) How was the Williamsport roster and who impressed among the group that could be in Lakewood in 2012?
Williamsport had a solid group in 2011, obviously just missing the New York-Penn League playoffs, and they had a host of interesting prospects that should move to Lakewood next year. I previously mentioned Franco, who put up impressive numbers in the college-heavy New York-Penn League at 18, which speaks for itself. Lakewood fans also already know Aaron Altherr, the No. 10 prospect on last year’s list, because he spent the early parts of 2011 with the BlueClaws. Altherr is raw but still has an incredibly high ceiling, and he can play all three outfield positions. He’ll play alongside former third-round pick Kyrell Hudson, an outfielder with incredible athleticism and tools. Hudson’s defense in centerfield ranks among the best in the system, and Lakewood fans might have a tough time deciding whether Anthony Gose, Jiwan James or Hudson has been the best defensive centerfielder in recent years. Assuming he’s healthy, expect Perci Garner to pitch at the front of the Claws’ rotation next year. The former second-rounder has a plus fastball, a downer curveball and a developing changeup. For a college draft pick, Garner doesn’t have oodles of experience, but 2011 could truly be his breakout season. Two of Williamsport’s other top pitching prospects, 2011 draftees Adam Morgan and Austin Wright (who made seven starts with Lakewood), will likely head to Clearwater.

8 ) Any players catch your eye that just missed this list?
To piggyback off the previous question and address this one, there are several players who just missed the top 10 and could end up in Lakewood next year — all three are 2011 draftees. Supplemental first-rounder Larry Greene, second-rounder Roman Quinn and fifth-rounder Mitchell Walding have the tools and physicality to handle an assignment to the South Atlantic League, it’ll just be a matter of how aggressive the front office wants to be. It wouldn’t surprise me if that trio starts the year in extended spring training, then joins Lakewood in late May. Another exciting name to watch out for is international signing Carlos Tocci. He’s a long way away from contributing, as he just turned 16 in August, but Tocci has incredible tools and uncanny instincts. If he can add some strength to his stick-figure frame, Tocci has true impact potential — he’s a plus hitter and plus up-the-middle defender. It’s also worth noting Lisalberto Bonilla, who at times looked among the Sally’s top prospects and really burst on the scene at midseason once he was moved into the rotation. Bonillia narrowly missed the top 10 but shows signs of three plus pitches and repeats his delivery well.

9) How do you assess the overall strength of the system compared to the last few years after another big trade?
The system certainly has taken a hit because of the trades, as 17 top-ranked prospects have been traded in the last four years to acquire Joe Blanton, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Hunter Pence. Last year the Phillies were among the top eight systems in baseball, and this year I would guess they’ll fall somewhere in the 15-20 range. Usually the top organizations have at least one blue-chip, can’t-miss player and several others among the top 50 prospects; think Tampa Bay with Matt Moore, Texas with Jurickson Profar or Toronto with Travis d’Arnaud. That’s not slighting Trevor May, but he’s not quite in that elite class. The 2011 draft class, though, could go a long way to replenishing the farm, as scouting director Marti Wolever took handful of toolsy, high-upside players with impact potential in (Larry) Greene, Quinn, Walding and Tyler Greene. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of those players took off like Jonathan Singleton did two years ago at Lakewood, just one year after getting drafted. All that said, I still think there’s plenty of quality depth within the system, and it speaks volumes that I haven’t yet mentioned Cesar Hernandez or Leandro Castro or Julio Rodriguez, who all have a legitimate shot of contributing in the big leagues.